Gardening with Nana Leti

Hmmm... what can I do with these green things?

Digging for treasures with Lil Leti

What?! No treasures.. just veggies?????

Leaving Nana Leti to do all the hard work

Tolly's parents live a short drive away in Palmerston North so every now and then we load everyone (and everything short of the kitchen sink!) in our wee Toyota Corolla and head north. We get to eat yummy food, the kids get lots of cuddles and the parents get lots of sleep so it's a win-win situation!

Nana Leti is a real 'greeny' and loves her garden. She has a big vege patch and some apple & lemon trees as well. On a nice sunny day the grandkids joined her and had a great time making a mess & planting some healthy vegetables.

A few changes...

Apologies to all my followers (all 4 of you!!) for the MASSIVE delay in updating this blog :( Lots has happened since March 2011 but let's just summarise the main events:

(1) Isla has grown hair

(2) Isla has a new baby brother

Isla took a while getting used to the latest addition to the Auva'a household but has since become a very doting big sis. Lots of hugs & cuddles and even a few rugby tackles & pinches thrown in there as well!

Luca is named after his dad 'Tolovae' and 'Ichiro' in Japanese means 'First Son'. He is a cruisy lil bub... just eats & sleeps and never complains. At birth he weighed just over 7lbs but is growing so fast... he may take over his big sis so she better watch out!

We have been very lucky to have Aunty Sachi & Uncle Mark, Nana & Papa (from both sides) and all the aunties, uncles & cousins to help us out. So far it hasn't been too crazy in the hood! Fingers crossed that lasts.

Ok - signing off for now but promising to be much better with keeping in touch. Aunty Rachel, these pics are just for you. Thanks for forcing me to get off my behind and getting some pics online!!!! ;)

The Piano

Isla Mozart

Umm, how can I play if I can't reach the foot pedals?

Smiling for the paparazzi

This is a handy foot step...

The saga of the piano!

When we moved from Kingston we discovered that the piano had borer so Papa & Nana paid to get it fumigated before transferring it to Glamis, where it was stored in the garage cos Aunty Sachi didn't want it in her new house! Papa was not too impressed with this as he was very attached to the piano!

Isla loves playing (or rather, banging!) the piano so we convinced them to let us take it to Everton when we moved in. However, 2 weeks after moving in we discovered borer holes all along the walls behind the piano :(

After much arguing, raised voices and a few yelling matches with the guy who supposedly fumigated the piano - we were told that the house has had borer for quite a while... which is another story!

Anyway, Isla still loves playing the piano and while I was cleaning yesterday she was trying to get to the piano. She had an obstacle (namely the vacuum cleaner) in front of her but as you can see, she did not let this stop her. Funnily enough, her foot started the vaccum accidentally which gave her a bit of a heartattack and she fell off the vacuum!

I'm a big, big girl in a big, big world...

Lunchtime has to be outside cos it gets so messy!

Isla's "fish" look

Cheesy grin :)

We look at Isla now and think.... 'Who are you??'. She has changed so much, both in looks and personality. Her latest visit with the Well Child nurses have her above average in height (obviously not her mama or daddy's genes!) and average in weight (altho we think she's a lil fatty!).

Isla LOVES eating and will always have food in her mouth! Her favourites at the moment are fruit and veggies... altho she has also shown a liking for McDonalds cheeseburgers & fries! (esp hash browns for breakfast!)

She is an avid reader and loves reading (and re-reading) favourites such as 'Brown Bear' and 'The Wheels on the Bus'. She is starting to pick out detail in books, such as finding the moon in ' A Kiwi Night before Christmas' or thumping her chest when she sees the gorilla in 'Rumble in the Jungle'.

Isla is a real social butterfly which can be quite embarassing when you are out & about with her. The other day at the playground I lost sight of her for a few mins only to find her eating another kids food out of their lunchbox! She just walks up to people and tries to give them hugs...or beg for food...or flashes her cheesy smile at total strangers to try and get attention. Shame!

At this stage she is showing flashes of 'faalii' (must come from mama) and is a bit of a clown (definitely daddy!). Am really enjoying this stage - she is walking all the time now, even trying to run and is noticing more of the world around her.

February 2011

Isla celebrating her birthday with her cousins.

Back: Gio, Leti (with Daddy), Chrissy, Isla (with Uncle Lima)

Middle: Faith, Lourdes & Micah

Front: Matthew & Caleb

Hard to believe a year ago our lives were flipped upside down with the arrival of our precious Isla Michiko. Since then it's been a blur of nappies, toys, adventures, new learning and happy memories. We must admit, we are very lucky in that Isla has had a healthy start to her year... only a few infections, couple of fevers, minor allergies - even teething was not a problem! Touch wood this continues!

For her birthday we had a small family gathering at our new place. We really wanted to thank God for his blessing us with Isla and taking care of her this past year so we held a baby dedication at Mom & Dad's church in the morning followed by a toonai.

Isla received lots of cool presents from everyone... Aunty Sachi has the photos on her camera so will get them on here asap!

Life's a Beach!

One of the many bonuses of being back in Wellywood is having all these cool beaches just a hop, skip & throw away from your front door. Wellington has also been experiencing some pretty warm weather (unbelieveable!) so we've been trying to get out as much as possible to make the most of sun & sand.

Seatoun beach is just a short walk from the new HQ so we spend many hot afternoons down there - Micah chasing the waves, Isla eating the rocks & the rest of us lazing on the shore.

Another bonus is having Aunty Sachi, Uncle Mareko & cuzzy Micah around... more people to enjoy the sights with! Isla LOVES her cousin Micah and follows him everywhere. She is learning some valuable lessons from him - like the pecking order of him being older & therefore the boss! Am sure Isla will only be more than happy to pass this life lesson on to the next addition that comes along ;)

Happy New Year!

Moemoe time with Dadda

If I do this, will you give me more food?

No? Ok, how 'bout I smile real cheesy?

Spying on the neighbours with Nana

It's been 3 months since our last update (whoops!) and what a 3 months it has been! Let's see... we finally moved out of Ontario St after living there approx 20 years, Aunty Sachi, Uncle Mareko & Micah returned home from Sydney (yay!), Mama & Dadda went for a wedding in Raro and I got to spend some time with Aunty Molly & Nana in Auckland, my first Christmas & New Year celebrations, Dadda got a new job... it's been busy, busy, busy!
On a more personal note, Isla now has 4 teeth and obviously inherited her eating genes from her Dadda (ie: she gobbles everything put in front of her!). Still crawling around like a race car but is attempting to take a few steps & stand on her own thanks to a cool walker that Micah got her for Christmas.

We're really lucky to have Aunty Sachi back cos she is genius with the camera... we can finally get some decent shots of Isla!